I'm writing this for my roommate whose computer is not working. He had a legit version of Windows XP Home installed on the computer (Sony VAIO) when he purchased it. He purchased the upgrade to Windows XP Pro and everything worked fine until recently. His Motherboard fried and it was determined that a new case, chip set and mother board would be all it would take to keep him up and running and up to date. The shop that rebuilt the system said all they needed was the upgrade software, not the original. He put in the appropriate keys but the computer is not seeing it. Thinking the problem stemmed from the fact that they did not install Home first, he tried to install it, and the CD is saying it is not recognizing the system. Is the Windows XP home version propriatory? And since he has legit versions, shouldn't his keys work anyway?
He tried to contact MS via phone and spoke to the folks in India. When his answer was not the one they expected they:
1.) Hung up on him
2.) Kept having him repeat the same steps over and over hoping for a different response (isn't that the definition of insanity?)
3.) Transferred him to someone else that said they could not help with a new product key
He was running out of patience and didn't even want to try writing to MS for help. I offered since he is so frustrated at the moment.
He has paid for not one but 2 versions of Windows XP. I would hope he would not have to purchase a third because the software does not recognize the key -- that just would not be right! What's a fellow to do?
Cheryl
